Letter: Propositions 4 and 5 are a win-win for Adirondacks

The Adirondacks are New York’s environmental jewel, a vacation destination for people from across our state, and home to tens of thousands of people.

By voting yes for Propositions 4 and 5 on the statewide ballot, New Yorkers will expand the Adirondack Forest Preserve and open new lands for public recreation, help preserve 100 jobs in an area where they are sorely needed, and clear up unfortunate property title disputes that have lingered for more than a century for homeowners, local businesses and community organizations. Perhaps the best thing is, we can accomplish all this at no cost to taxpayers.

As local government representatives in the region most directly impacted by these propositions, we ask voters across the state to support these two propositions.

Proposition 4 would resolve disputed property titles in the town of Long Lake that date from the 1800s and, in doing so, add great new recreational lands to the forest preserve. A statewide ballot is required to formalize a resolution that has already been agreed to by the parties involved.

Proposition 5 would add 1,500 acres to the preserve and protect 100 Adirondack jobs through a land swap that will allow a local mining company to temporarily extend its operations onto 200 acres of remote forest preserve land that adjoins the company’s existing mine. Once the mining work is completed, the 200 acres would be reclaimed, replanted and returned to the preserve, while the 1,500 acres will remain in state ownership. These are win-win propositions.